


Bloodline: The Spring Hills Chronicles Vol.1

by redsandman99



Category: Original Work
Genre: Supernatural Elements, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2017-12-28 23:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/998158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsandman99/pseuds/redsandman99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be a chance to start over. A new job for her uncle and a fresh start for the troubled Jackie Chase. Yet when a vampire cult targets her younger sister, she finds that escaping the supernatural world is much easier said than done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 Lungs and leg muscles burned as Jackie Chase ran blindly through the dark maze she was trapped in. She kept her hands out in front of her, catching herself from smacking face first into the cold stone walls. She didn't know where she was or how she had even gotten there. What she did know was that there was a feeling of sheer, undulturated terror in the pit of her stomach. Something was after her. She didn't know what it was but she could hear its footsteps getting closer and closer behind her. She forced herself to run faster. There had to be an escape. She just had to focus. Force her eyes adjust to the dark so she could find it.

  
 The ground beneath her feet disappeared as she careened around the corner, sending her plummeting straight down. She screamed and desperately reached out for anything that would stop her fall. Nothing was found but thin air. When she finally landed she did so feet first. The sheer impact snapped both her legs in half and her entire body hit the cold, wet ground with a thud. Stars danced in front of her eyes as the back of her head hit the hard surface. It dazed her so badly she didn’t immediately feel the pain in her legs. It did come. Once the stars disappeared it came in full force, hurting so bad that it made her both pass out but then wake back up it was so intense. Hot tears streamed down her face freely. She forced herself to sit up and wiped her face with the back of her hand. It was too dark for her to see the twisted pretzels her legs had become. That was one thing to be grateful for she supposed. The pain itself was enough to deal with.

  
 “HELP!” Swallowing the urge to vomit she began to scream for help. Digging her palms against the ground she began to scoot backwards. “SOMEBODY HELP ME!” She drew ragged breaths as she tried to force her eyes to adjust to the pure blackness around her. Her chest was tight she could barely breathe. Her stomach was in knots from both fear and pain. Tears kept falling, her attempts at controlling them failing miserably. She forced herself to scoot back until she hit a wall. She reached up as far as she could, hoping to find a door or a light switch or anything that could possibly help her.

  
 “Jaaackieeee…” The velvet smooth voice pierced her soul to its very core. “Oh Jackie…”

  
 “No.” She shook her head in denial. “No no no no no…” Even in the darkness she could now make out the creature coming towards her. It towered above her, it’s albino skin scaly and jagged. Its hands and feet were barely more than sharp claws while its jaw stuck out, the mouth filled with row after row of sharp canine teeth. Its eyes glowed bright red and they were zeroed in right on her.

“Come to me.” It raised one clawed hand and beckoned for her to join him. Blood stained his hand, much like it did the night it tore her parents to shreds.

  
 “HELP!” Resuming her screaming, she pressed herself as much to the wall behind her as she could. He was advancing right on her and she had nowhere to go. “GO AWAY!” She raised her fists, readying herself to swing even though she knew in her heart the fear she was feeling would make her freeze before she ever delivered a blow. “GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY GO--”

  
 “Jackie!”

  
 The sudden inclusion of the female voice and the hard shove that sent her head colliding with the window woke Jackie up from her slumber. She gasped and nearly flew out of the seatbelt that kept her strapped to her seat. She looked around wildly, her cheeks turning red as she realized that not only was her sister Christina staring at her like she was some freak but their uncle Bill had actually stopped the car and had turned around in his seat to face her.

  
 “Are you okay?” The concern in those green eyes softened a usually strong, chiseled face. Short dark hair was unkempt and purple bags had formed under his eyes from the eighteen hour drive they had been on.  A cheap man by nature, he had chose to load up on energy drinks to get him through the drive rather than pay for a hotel.

  
 Jackie forced herself to nod. Her heart was still pounding away inside her chest but she didn’t let him know that. “I’m fine.” She ran a hand through her long, sweat soaked brown hair. “I’m fine.”

  
 “Are you sure?”

  
 She nodded. That prompted Christina to snort and roll her eyes. They both knew she was lying but the fourteen year old didn’t pretend to not know like he did. Jackie shot the leggy blonde a glare. It went completely unnoticed. Pouting, Christina had slouched down in her seat, her legs hugging the empty passengers seat in front of her. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and she had earbuds in, her I-pod blasting Bruno Mars at top volume. A heart shape face with high cheekbones, bright blue eyes and full lips set her as the pretty Chase sister. Back in Chicago, she had been the one with all the friends and the boyfriends and the admirers--and now once they got to their new home it would be the same thing all over again. She acted like it was the end of the world since she was leaving behind so much but she would ultimately be fine. Until that was realized though, she wasn’t actually speaking to Bill or Jackie. Life was so unfair to the selfish fourteen year old.

  
 When the glare didn’t get the results she wanted, Jackie turned to face the window. Bill got them back on the road, turning the radio back up. Some old rock song was playing but she barely paid it any mind. She tried to just look at the scenery but her reflection kept getting her attention. Pasty skin with a square jaw and boring brown eyes with even worse bags under them than the ones Bill sported now…she couldn’t help but grimace. Normally she wasn’t one for being self conscious but she looked terrible. “How long was I out?”

  
 “Not even an hour,” Bill replied. “It’s so strange. When you were a baby you could sleep for hours riding in a car.”

  
 Jackie said nothing to that. That had been then and this was now. She hadn’t gone through one night without nightmares for nine years. There were months at a time where she barely made it through three hours of sleep for a single night. She was on one of those spurts once again. She reached up and touched the red amulet she wore on her neck.  The necklace with the huge red jewel right in the center was something her mother had given her when she had only been a baby.  It was the only real thing she still had from her beyond pictures.

  
 “Your mother loved Spring Hills.” Bill’s voice cut through the awkward silence that had taken the car hostage. “If it weren’t for your dad I don’t think she would have ever left.”

  
 Jackie only nodded along. Spring Hills was their current destination. A little town in the middle of nowhere that held a job opportunity for Bill that couldn’t be passed up. He had been drifting through different jobs over the past year since his autoshop had burned to the ground and it hadn’t been very much to get by. His father had offered him ownership of the hardware store he had been running for the past thirty years and Bill had accepted gladly. They would be living just a few short blocks from the old man, who would be turning eighty one in December. Jackie did have the feeling that Bill wanted to have some time with him before he passed on. She couldn't exactly say she felt the same way. She hadn't seen Grandpa Wilson in nearly seven years. Bill and Christina had seen him more often but Jackie had long since stopped going with them. For whatever reason she had the feeling the old man didn't like her. He hid it well enough for nobody else to notice but she could definitely feel that vibe from him.

  
 Two more hours passed with little event. Bill stopped to get another energy drink, passing on Jackie's offer to take over driving for him. Christina fell asleep while Jackie just kept staring out the window. Everything they passed blended together until Bill pulled off the interstate. The exit led to a winding road that ended at a fork. Bill went right and one mile later they were officially in Spring Hills. It was bigger than what Bill and her mother always described it as. When they had been growing up Back then there hadn't been ten thousand people living there; now there was just over forty thousand. The tiny town had grown into its own little city.

  
 "Not quite the raggedy one horse place Christina made it out to be is it?" Bill said with a small laugh.

  
 Jackie cracked a half smile. "She's still going to hate it."

  
 "She's fourteen. She hates everything." Bill turned down the radio and cracked the window open. "She'll adjust better than she thinks."

  
 "And if she doesn't?"

  
 "Well life doesn't always cater to what she wants." Bill stopped at a stop sign and looked back at her through the rearview mirror. "If I'm going to keep a roof over your guys' head I need to take this job. And after that trouble you got into with Alex--"

  
 "I thought you said the move wasn't because of that."

  
 "It's not." The defensive tone he took made her feel like that was a lie. "But after all that happened you need to be somewhere you can start fresh. Go somewhere that--"

  
 "People don't yell murderer and run away?"

  
 Bill just sighed and kept quiet until they pulled into the driveway of their new ranch style house. "Come on." He turned the car off and took the keys of the ignition. "Wake your sister up. We have a lot of unpacking to do."


	2. Chapter 2

Unloading the car and the moving truck took them well into the evening. They tried to make sure they put all the boxes in the right rooms so actually fully unpacking would be easier. Jackie found herself surprised when her grandpa showed up to help. Josh Wilson somehow looked younger to her than the last time she had seen him. A few wrinkles and a couple gray hairs aside, he looked years younger than he was. Perhaps he had gotten work done though she didn't know how he could have afforded it. She had never gotten the impression the hardware store made that much money. Maybe she had been wrong. She didn't know and she wasn't asking. Instead she quietly sat at the table and ate the Chinese Bill had picked up for them to eat.

"You should have told me you were coming Dad." Bill sucked up a lo mein noodle while looking at his dad sheepishly. "I would have grabbed you something."

Josh waved him off. "I already ate." His small, almost beady blue eyes drifted over to Jackie, who was literally stabbing her general tso's chicken with her chopsticks. "Didn't anyone teach you how to actually use those?"

Christina rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I've tried." She reached under the table with her foot and kicked Jackie's leg. "Stop eating like a freak."

Just to be defiant, Jackie made a show of stabbing her food yet again and shoved it into her mouth. Christina rolled her eyes while Bill covered his amusement with a cough.  Josh raised his eyebrows but refrained from saying anything on the subject. “Have you gotten the girls enrolled in school yet?”

Bill looked startled by the sudden change of topic. “We just got here today Pops. I haven’t even thought of that.”

“I told you to call the school before you drove out here.” With narrowed eyes, Josh shook his head disapprovingly.  “You have to stay on top of these things.”

“I’ll call them in the morning.” Bill spoke quickly, hoping to appease the older man. “Tomorrow is Friday anyway it’s not like they’re missing much not getting in this week.”

“Yeah Grandpa.” Christina tilted back in her chair, nearly toppling over when she nearly went back too far. “Relax. I’ll catch up quickly and Jackie’s hopeless anyway--”

“Christina Grace,” Bill said sharply. “That’s enough.”

“What?” Christina set down her carton of food on the table and eyed Bill unhappily. “It’s true!”

“Screw you.” Swallowing the food that was in her mouth, Jackie glared at her younger sister.

“No screw you,” Christina countered. “You are hopeless you practically fail every class because you’re stupid.”

“Not stupid. I just don’t care.”

“And what kind of attitude is that to have?” Josh asked.

"Mine." Jackie didn't want to hear a lecture. She had heard enough on this subject from Bill and about every single teacher she ever had. They reprimanded her constantly, telling her she was such a smart girl and that she was wasting her potential. She supposed that it was true. School hadn't been a concern of hers in years. 

"Jackie had some trouble back in Chicago." Bill was speaking to Josh like she wasn't even in the room. She absolutely despised it yet nobody ever actually stopped doing it. "Things will be different here." He looked to her for support. "Right?"

"Sure." It wasn't a sincere agreement but it didn't need to be to satisfy him. "It'll all be different." She set her food down, no longer hungry. "Can I be excused?"

Bill nodded. Wasting no time, she went straight to her room. She closed and locked the door behind her. She waited to make sure they started talking again without her before grabbing her leather jacket off her bed. It was the only thing  she had unpacked so far. She slipped it on and opened her window. The biggest advantage of moving had already presented itself: she had a room on the first floor. No more nearly killing herself trying to sneak out when needed. She closed it most of the way behind her and took off running. There was no particular place that she was trying to go. She didn't know the area and she hadn't seen a place on the drive there that seemed like a good safe haven. She could find one though. Get away from all the stuff going on. Get away from a house where one member of her family buried his face in the sand and the other hated her.

She sped up as she ran, eventually sprinting blindly until she finally had to stop before she passed out. Her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell to her hands and knees. The amulet dangled from her neck, making her itch as the chain clung to her sweaty skin. She didn't dare take it off though. Instead she slipped her hand underneath the chain and wiped her skin off. She forced herself to take several breaths to slow her heart beat before getting back up to her feet. She had ended up going to an elementary school playground. She glanced around in every direction to make sure she was alone. The area by the school itself had no light so someone could have been hiding there but until proven otherwise, she decided to operate under the assumption that she was indeed alone. Sighing loudly, she walked over to the swing set and sat down on the middle swing. She stretched her legs out, trying to force the cramps that had formed away.

Several cars drove by though none of the people in them took notice of her. She gripped the metal chains holding the swing to the set, twisting them as she slowly tipped back to look at the sky. She tipped back until all her hair hung straight down, stopping just inches from the ground. The blood rushed to her head but she forced herself to stay that way. From across the street she could see a young black teenager arriving to his home. A sudden pang ripped through her chest. From where she was, he looked exactly like her recently deceased friend Alex. He had the same hairstyle, same height, about the same weight....she was even fairly certain Alex had owned a jacket just like the one this boy was wearing.

Hot tears burned her eyes as she forced herself to sit back up. Thinking about Alex hurt. He had been her friend....her only friend. And she had gotten him killed. In the week before he had died, a series of murders had claimed the lives of several young women. Two bite marks to the neck, bodies drained of blood...vampires had been the cause. She had gone looking for them and Alex, ever the loyal friend, came with her. They had tracked the vampire down, dispatched it...and then promptly got swarmed by the nest it had belonged to. She had fought her way out but Alex, who had not been religiously self trained or had any experience in the supernatural world she had gotten herself swallowed into ever since a demon had killed her parents, had not been so lucky. The vampires had killed him and she hadn't been able to stop it. She had managed to kill the vampires and in grief buried her best friend. She hadn't done it very well though. The body had been discovered within a day and while she had fooled the cops when they had questioned her on the manner, anyone who knew her knew she had been with him that night. They knew she knew what had happened to him and her unwillingness to speak on the manner aroused suspicion on to her. They believed it was her fault. Kids at school even started rumors that she had killed him herself. The only defense she had provided was smashing Tommy Sandow in the face with her math book and shoving him down the stairs when he had dared to say that to her face...for some reason that hadn't really helped her case all that much.

Sniffling she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She forced thoughts of Alex out of her mind. She couldn't let herself think about him. Dwelling on him wouldn't bring him back. The only thing she could do was move forward. She had already sworn off fighting any more demons of vampires. The obsession born out of the death of her parents had died with the death of her best friend. Learning to kill things that happened to go bump in the night hadn't eased the nightmarish night she watched both her parents die. It had really only led to one spot of trouble after the next long before the incident with Alex. Trying to be somewhat normal was the only way she could go. It was the key to an easier, hopefully pain free life.

Jackie took a deep breath and got back up to her feet. She supposed she needed to get back home before anyone noticed she was gone. As she walked she could have sworn she felt a pair of eyes watching her but she elected to ignore it. It was nothing she told herself. If she couldn't see it, it really wasn't there.

Too bad that in her heart, she really didn't believe any such thing.


	3. Chapter 3

The first day Jackie and Christina were set to start Spring Hills High Jackie was woken up by the start of a violent thunderstorm. Heavy gray clouds hung above them though one could hardly even see them it was raining so hard. With an hour still to go before she technically even had to be up, Jackie went and sat at her window so she could watch the rain fall. She kept her blanket wrapped tightly around her. She crossed her legs and tucked her feet in to make sure they stayed warm. She had forgotten to put on socks before she had gone to bed. She sat there until only a minute before her alarm was set to go off. Then she finally forced herself to get up and switched the alarm off. She unwrapped herself from her blanket and put it on her bed. Her clothes were already setting out on her dresser. It was a routine Christina mocked her for. She always kept her clothes sitting out, ready to go for the next morning. It was a regimen that her mother had set for her when she had been younger. Outfits always were picked out the night before whether there was school or not, up and out of bed by nine unless it was the weekend and breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. That last part wasn't really part of the routine though it had been what she ate for breakfast practically every day since she was four. Bill occasionally got her to eat other things but for the most part she adhered strictly to her routine.

Jackie changed into her clothes, dropped her pajamas off at the laundry hamper and went to the kitchen. Neither Bill or Christina had come downstairs yet. Christina had left a ponytail on the microwave that Jackie snatched and used to tie her own hair back. She started on breakfast, making some bacon and hasbrowns in addition to her typical meal. The smell of food brought Christina downstairs though she didn't look particularly pleased by what had been cooked.

"Really Jackie? Again?"

"Set the table." Jackie wasn't about to argue with her. There was no point she already had the food almost done.

Christina sighed and did what she was told. Three plates, three sets of silverware, three glasses and the cartons of milk and orange juice arranged just right. "Why didn't you start the coffee?"

Jackie shrugged. "I forgot."

"Ugh Jack..." Christina got that started as well. "where did you go last night?"

"I didn't go anywhere."

Christina shook her head. "Bill sent me to apologize like ten minutes after you left the table. You weren't in there."

"Did you tell?"

"Was he in your room waiting to lecture you when you came back?"

The answer to that one was no. "Thank you." Jackie was honestly taken aback. She couldn't even remember the last time Christina had covered for her.

"Have you been sneaking out since we got here?"

Jackie only nodded.

"God damn it Jackie..." Christina looked ready to throttle her. "What's so interesting out there? Why do you always have to do this?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong." Jackie jumped on the defensive. "I mean, I'm just walking around. I like going on walks is that's wrong?"

"It is if somehow make us have to move again."

"Moving here wasn't totally my fault so why don't you back off?" Jackie was tired of taking the blame for her. "Bill needed the damn job we would have had to move anyway." She put the dishes she had used for her cooking in the sink.

"Just try to be normal today, okay?" Christina had no real argument to what Jackie had just said so the subject was moving on. "I'd like to not be known as the girl with a weirdo sister."

"Whatever." Jackie wasn't making any promises. At least not to her. Not after her spurt of the blame game.

Christina opened her mouth to say something back but quickly shut it when Bill entered the room. The three of them ate in silence and once breakfast was over Christina opted to walk instead of getting dropped off by Bill. Jackie figured that was just as well. Maybe if they could manage to pretend they weren't related they could co-exist a lot easier at home.

...

Spring Hills High wasn't much different than Washington High back at Chicago. The school wasn't quite as big but it had the same white tiles that had a horrible glare when the light hit it just right. The same amount of lockers in each hall though these were painted blue instead of red. The classrooms had the same design, the same taste for their lunch food--except for the faces of the people around her Jackie felt like she had never left home. She felt relieved by that. It made it all the easier to keep her head down and slide through most of her day without anyone paying much mind to her. She passed Christina a few times and already her sister was walking with two other girls, chatting quite amicably. Not a shocker she was always so good at making friends. She probably had a whole lunch table of people to sit with while Jackie skipped lunch all together and hid in the bathroom so she didn't have to endure the embarrassment of finding a table to sit alone at. She wanted to just leave the building completely but forced herself to stay. She had promised Bill she would try to be better in school and that meant no needlessly cutting classes.

After lunch there was chemistry which was the first class that really threw her for a loop. There was no desk she could sit in and shrink into without anyone giving her so much as a second look. This room had tables to sit at, meaning she'd have to share her space with someone else. She hung back as the bell rang and surveyed the scene. She hoped for an even number of students so she could get a table to herself but no such luck was to be had. In the back of the room was one empty seat, which was at a table occupied by a rugged looking guy in the back of the room. He had short dark hair that curled ever so slightly at the ends and a fair amount of scruff as well. He was leaning back in his seat, scratching one muscular arm lazily while he had a leg wrapped around one of the table legs so he didn't actually fall completely backwards. A dark green jacket hung on the back of his chair and his books were pushed to the very corner of his table. Jackie looked to the teacher Mrs. Green but she was too busy trying to get something written on the marker board before class started. Jackie sighed and walked back towards him. A couple people looked her way as she went but he kept his gave up at the ceiling even as she stopped in front of him.

"I um...I think I have to sit here." Jackie shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. She took another glance around to make sure she hadn't missed another spot she could sit at. It still didn't exist. She had been right to start with she was stuck.

"Hmm?" He finally looked at her, his eyes growing in surprise. "What you want?"

"I think I have to sit with you." Jackie pointed to the chair next to him.

"So sit." He plopped his chair back down to how it was supposed to be and pulled out the other one for her. "I don't bite. Not hard anyway." He looked over to the table next to him and winked at the girl sitting at it. "Tell her Veronica."

"Eat me Hunter."

"Again? Well if you insist--"

Veronica flipped him off and he just laughed. Jackie quickly sat down and opened her bag. She had gotten all the books she had needed from the library before first period. She pulled out her chemistry book and a notebook and a pen.

"What's your name?" Hunter turned his chair towards Jackie and leaned forward over the table. His hand rested over the knob of the burner that sat in front of them.

"Jackie." She looked towards the board and grimaced at what was written up there. Chemistry had been one of the subjects she skipped almost every day back in Chicago and now she was remembering why. What she was seeing was complete gibberish to her. She had one okay enough in biology last year when she had tried but this was a far, far cry from that branch of science.

"Don't worry I don't get it either." Hunter's voice startled Jackie. She turned to see he was giving her a knowing look. "It's better than physics though I'll tell you that. Green at least will tutor you after school if you want."

"Oh. Okay." Jackie shifted around in her seat. The bell had run and attendance was being taken. Once again she was able to avoid the having to stand up and tell the whole class about herself. She had seen that in so many movies and TV shows that she had been dreading actually having to do that all day. She took notes all through the class, understanding about half of what was being presented to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hunter continually stealing glances at her as the class went on and on. Her cheeks flushed and she bowed her head to hide it. The attention wasn't something she was used to. Not from a guy. Christina was the one who had guys looking at her. She got that attention not her. She finally stole a glance at him and his head quickly snapped towards the board. All of this wasn't being lost on Veronica, who didn't look very pleased. Despite the bantering back and forth she had engaged in with Hunter hadn't sounded friendly on her part yet now she was giving Jackie a look that clearly screamed jealousy. Jackie didn't get what there was to be jealous of. Veronica was way prettier than she was. Olive skin, caramel colored hair, full lips, breasts that Jackie would kill to have...no, there was no competition.

"So where are you from?" Hunter finally asked. Mrs. Green was still talking but he was more openly not caring now.

Jackie pretended not to hear him until she got poked in the arm with a pencil. "Ow!" Her head snapped in Hunter's direction. "What?"

"Where you from?" Hunter didn't seem bothered at all by the irritated glare he was getting.

"Chicago."

"Why the hell would you come here?"

"Mr. Davis pay attention." Mrs. Green's attention focused back on to their table. The rest of the class turned back to look right along with her. "Just because you finally are getting another lab partner does not mean you get to be disruptive."

"Sorry Sandy. Won't--"

"Mr. Davis!" Mrs. Green's eyes narrowed. The slightly overweight woman of forty looked ready to chuck something at him. "What have I told you about using my first name?"

Hunter looked cowed for all of two seconds before a boyish, playful smirk crossed his lips. "To stop or else you're going to rip out my tongue and offer it to Satan while you dance naked in the moonlight?"

Jackie nearly choked and the rest of the class either laughed or looked to Mrs. Green to see what she would do. Mrs. Green looked ready to toss him out of the room completely but instead spun on her heels and turned back towards the board. Hunter grinned triumphantly and leaned in towards Jackie so he could whisper and not be interrupted again. "She dates my dad you know. She got really drunk when she said that and was like half naked and then just started blurting stuff out, you know?"

"No I don't know." Jackie put down her pen and turned more towards him. "And I don't really need to know that."

"Why not? She not your type?"

"No..." Jackie saw the page being written down on the board out of the corner of her eye and grabbed her textbook. "Is she yours?"

"Well you know I don't really discriminate. I like all types." He reached over and grabbed the sheet of paper that had her schedule written down on it. It hadn't been as tucked into the back of her notebook as she had thought.

"Hey!" Jackie tried to keep her objection down to a low hiss. "Give me that!" She tried to snatch it back but he held it up out of reach. "Dude seriously--"

"Ssshhh." Hunter slapped down her hands and took a good look at her schedule. "Creative writing huh?"

"I needed an elective." Jackie made sure Mrs. Green wasn't paying attention to them before standing halfway up and ripping the paper out of his hand. She shoved it back into her bag and had enough time to scribble down the assignment before the bell rang. She shoved everything back into her bag and tried to leave as fast as she could. Hunter was right on her heels, hopping right in front of her before she could get far.

"Mr. Peterson's room is on the way for my next class." He started walking backwards, not paying mind to the people he was nearly running into. "I can show you."

"I'm fine." Jackie tried to step around him but he was persistant. "Why are you bothering me?" She stopped walking completely. The people behind her were pissed but she barely paid them any mind. "All I did was sit next to you and now you're up my ass."

"Maybe I like you." Hunter folded his arms over his chest and gave her an amused grin. She was literally giving him a death stare and all he could do was grin at her. She almost thought he was just totally dumb and oblivious but the look in his eyes told her better. She could see the mischievious glint in them plain as day. He was bothering her on purpose. Maybe before he had only been curious before but somewhere along the line she had become his source of entertainment.

"You don't know me."

"Let me take you out after school. I will then."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because no." That was all Jackie really wanted to say on the matter. She forced him to move aside and practically ran down the hallway so he couldn't catch up. Her cheeks were burning red and she felt so flustered she couldn't think straight. The first time she had ever actually been asked out by a guy she had run away. He had been annoying but actually kind of cute but really really annoying...annoying and cocky and now she was going to have to sit next to him for the whole year. Maybe it was time to look back into her old skipping habits after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why can't I go?" Christina's whine punctuated the silence they had been working in. Bill had brought Jackie and Christina to the store after it had been closed so they could help do inventory. A few of the other workers has shown up though they were in another part of the store working. Jackie was relatively happy to be doing the work. Bill was actually going to pay them for it despite Josh saying it was just their duty to help out. It also gave her an excuse not to work on the mountain of homework she had waiting for her at home. But Christina had decided that now was a good time to bring up the fact that Bill had told her she couldn't go to some party on Saturday.  

 "Because I don't know these people," Bill replied. "I don't know the kids--"

  
 "I do though," Christina argued.

  
 "I don't know their parents--"

  
 "You don't need to! Just trust me, they'll be around."

  
 Jackie didn't stop the snort that escaped her at those words. She didn't know who her sister was trying to fool. This wasn't going to be a party with any adults. This was going to be a party where the seemingly perfect Christina would let loose her hidden drunken hot mess side and end her night with her head buried deep inside a toilet. There was one thing Jackie could say she had on her sister. She herself had never touched a drop of alcohol thus far in her life.

  
 "Jackie why don't you go take the trash out?" Bill had caught the look Christina gave her and was looking to avoid a fight.

 "Fine." Jackie handed him her inventory sheet and went up to the front of the store to get the trash bin. It was a large one with wheels so she just wheeled that to the back entrance as opposed to taking the bag out and carrying it through the whole store. She had caught a couple of the employees throwing their not completely empty sodas inside it and  didn't fancy leaving a big wet and sticky trail in her wake. Once she was at the back entrance she did pull the bag out, being very careful to not get any sort of leakage on her leg and feet. It was on the heavier side but she managed to carry it with one hand so she could use the other to open the door. A cool breeze hit her as she stepped out and she shivered. The weather would have been perfect if not for the wind. She walked quickly to the dumpster, tossing the bag inside. The stench inside it was nearly nasty enough to make her vomit. She slammed the dumpster back shut and started to head right back inside. She almost made it to the door when a scream from the distance caught her attention. She froze in her tracks. Immediately she tried to tell herself that she hadn't heard it. There was no way that had been real. She had imagined it.

  
 "HELP ME!" The scream was not only louder this time but there were words this time. She hadn't imagined it. It had been real.

  
 "Damn it..." Jackie didn't know what to do. She looked back and forth between the door and the direction the screams were coming from. She wanted to ignore what was happening. She really did. But as the sound of another shriek reached her ears she couldn't do it. She took off running towards the sound, scooping up a piece of wood that had a bunch of nails sticking out of it. She ran down the alley and veered to the left, darting past the back entrances of the bakery next door and the Radio Shack just past that. There was no light shining in front of her but she could still see the scene playing out in front of her as clear as day. A girl just a few years older than her was shoved up against a building, struggling violently against what Jackie first thought to be a man. But as the girl headbutted him, his head turned towards her and Jackie saw the sharp fangs and the yellow eyes. Her heart dropped down to her stomach. A vampire. A damn vampire she couldn't believe it. Here she was trying to start a new life yet there was no real escape from her old one.

  
 "Leave her alone!" Jackie shouted, making sure the monster's attention stayed directly on her. The girl he had was still screaming and struggling but he hadn't seemed like it had gotten a chance to sink his fangs into her yet. That was something at least.

  
 "Why?" The vampire was almost laughing at her interruption. "She's a tasty little thing." He cupped its potential victim's face with a single hand, digging its razor sharp fingernails into her face. The girls' sensitive skin started to break and little drops of blood began to form. The smell of it made the monster's eyes dialate and with a low growl he went to take a taste.

  
 "No!" Jackie flew into action. She busted the board in half over her knee, keeping the half with the nails  in her right hand and moving the nailess half to her left hand. She launched herself at the creature, spearing him away from the girl and giving her a chance to run. He snarled and snapped at her throat. She narrowly avoided it by whipping her head back so fast she nearly hurt herself. He had a hand around both of her wrists, leaving her unable to stake it in the heart.

  
 "What are you doing?" The girl shouted as she watched with wide eyes.

  
 "Just run!" Jackie replied. She shot her head forward, crashing it against the vampire's nose. The blow was enough to make him loosen his grip and she wrenched both of her hands free. She immediately struck the nail filled board down, putting the rusty metal objects in his face. One of them went straight into his eyes and the screams that followed were blood curdling. Jackie brought her other hand down as fast as she could, driving the jagged edge of the wood straight through his heart. The screams cut off as the creature exploded into the pile of ashes and the board that had been stuck in his eye hit the ground with a clatter. Jackie let out a long sigh. The fight itself had been easy enough but her heart was still pounding like she had just nearly come close to death. The shock of the enoucnter was the cause of that...or so she thought. That was the only way she could explain it.

  
 She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths until her heartbeat returned to normal. She opened her eyes and expected to find the girl she had saved gone. Much to her surprise though, the girl was not only there but had knelt down in front of her. She was patting the ground with her hands, searching for the vampire that no longer existed.

  
 "What...what was that?" The girl looked to Jackie in awe. Strawberry blonde hair very nearly touched the ground and her big green eyes were begging for answers.

  
 Jackie stayed silent for a moment. She didn't know what to say. The truth seemed ludacris yet there was no other sort of reasonable explanation as to what just happened. "...You don't want to know," she finally said. That was the only answer she felt like she could give. She got back up to her feet and started to walk away. She got about five steps when the girl suddenly popped back up in front of her.

  
 "I do want to know though." The girl moved side to side to keep Jackie from getting around her again. "What was wrong with that guy? Why did he turn into dust? That's not even supposed to happen--" she stepped on her own shoelace and nearly fell back and cracked her head open on the cement. Jackie managed to catch her by grabbing her arm. The moment she touched the girl literally jumped into her face, nearly making Jackie fall on her ass in surprise. "Did you know it was going to happen? Or did you think you were just going to kill him and hide the body in a bathtub full of acid?"

  
 "What?" Jackie was at a loss for words. "Why would I have done that?" She held on to the girl with both hands and pushed her back a bit. Personal space needed to be reclaimed.

  
 The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't expecting my date to be a...wait was he again?" She bounced on her toes, her fear seemingly completely forgotten as her curiosity had taken over.

  
 "Nothing. It was nothing." Jackie still didn't want to tell her. She didn't know her. She didn't want to answer five million questions. She had done the right thing by coming to the rescue but now she just wanted to be left alone. There was no reason that should have been too much to ask.

  
 "But--"

  
 Jackie didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't know what to say or how to get this strange girl to just go away. So she did the only sensible thing: she pushed her out of the way and ran back toawards the hardware store. The girl didn't give chase and after grabbing the trash can she ducked back inside without any other sort of confrontation. She took a moment to sigh in relief and fix up her clothes and hair before putting the trash can back and rejoining Bill and Christina. At first she thought her troubles for the night were over since she couldn't hear them arguing as she approached. But as soon as they saw her they both looked at her expectedly. "What?" She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back and forth between them. "What's wrong?"

  
 Christina let out a dramatic sigh. "Dear Uncle Bill says I can't go to the party unless you go. You're my adult supervision." She made quotation marks with her fingers as she said the last two words.

  
 Jackie frowned and looked to Bill. "You weren't even going to ask me if I was okay with this?"

  
 Bill cringed. "Can you do me a solid here?" He cringed more when he saw her start to open her mouth. "Please? I'll owe you big time just please do this for me."

  
 Jackie let out a long sigh. There were nearly a thousand things she would rather do, including having another go with the vampire she had faced outside. Yet she found herself nodding along anyway. She was just too willing to please. That was her problem really. She didn't really want to deal with putting her foot down and refusing. "Whatever."

  
 "Yes!" Forgetting herself for a moment, Christina threw her arms around Jackie's neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Suck it Uncle Bill!"

  
 "Hey!" Bill looked offended and gave chase to Christina as she took off. "Get back here now you don't get to talk to me like that!"

  
 Jackie watched them go off, shaking her head and wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. They were arguing once again only this time she had to laugh. Maybe if it could keep Christina like this as opposed to the unbearable creature she had become once she had hit puberty, one night of party suffering could be worth it.


End file.
